While fossil fuel projects are in theory excluded from EU funding, natural gas will continue to play a key role in replacing coal while helping to build a hydrogen infrastructure at least cost, EU climate chief Frans Timmermans said on Thursday (28 May).

The European Commission has increased five-fold its proposed EU fund to wean carbon-intensive regions off fossil fuels, with fresh cash from a new recovery fund to help Europe's ailing economies rebound after the new coronavirus pandemic.

The European Union's proposed €750 billion fund to help the bloc recover from the coronavirus crisis will have green strings attached, with 25% of all funding set aside for climate action, the European Commission has said.

Major European electricity groups – including Enel, Iberdrola, Ørsted, and EDP – have issued a joint call urging the European Commission to prioritise renewable hydrogen in its upcoming pandemic recovery plan.

A European tax on financial transactions and corporate profits could bring an annual €120 billion to the EU budget and finance a green recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, without asking a penny more from national governments, says Pierre Larrouturou.

The European Commission’s promised green recovery plan will focus on building renovation, renewables and hydrogen as well as clean mobility and the circular economy, according to a leaked working document obtained by EURACTIV.

The European Commission’s "Clean Hydrogen Alliance," expected to be launched in the summer, should focus primarily on ensuring that renewables-based hydrogen becomes cheaper than fossil alternatives, campaigners argue.

The European Commission intends to push a “transformative approach” to all forms of bioenergy – including biofuels and woody biomass – as part of a biodiversity strategy due to be unveiled on Wednesday (20 May).

Hydrogen has become a central element of EU plans to reach net-zero emissions by mid-century. The key question now is how to accelerate the transition and upgrade the gas infrastructure, policymakers say. “We need to accelerate” the gas industry’s conversion...

The April oil market crash will test the determination of majors like Shell and BP, which have recently announced goals to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

EU leaders have tasked the European Commission with drafting a trillion-euro recovery fund to restart the economy after the coronavirus crisis. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has since pledged to put the green and digital transitions at the heart...

Large companies receiving emergency cash during the COVID-19 crisis will have to report on how they use taxpayer money but won’t be obliged to spend on greening their operations, under new EU rules published yesterday (8 May).

The European Commission’s energy chief, Kadri Simson, has flagged the upcoming building renovation wave, rooftop solar, and offshore wind as key priorities for the energy sector in the recovery phase from the coronavirus crisis.

A coalition of 40 global businesses – including energy majors such as BP, Iberdrola, Orsted, and Shell – have called on governments to support "a massive wave of investments in renewable electricity" and other low-carbon energy solutions when devising recovery plans from the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than 50 CEOs from the banking and insurance sector – including household names such as BNP Paribas, AXA, Allianz, and Santander – have joined the “green recovery alliance” in the European Parliament.

To be effective, forest conservation initiatives must be rooted in a local context – including the land ownership and tenure ecosystems in which they operate, says Keith Kline, from the prestigious Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the US.

Frédéric joined EURACTIV in 2003 as a reporter covering mainly energy and environmental policy. Four years later, he entered the management team as editor and publisher, overseeing editorial production in Brussels, Paris and Berlin as well as the IT department. Frédéric is also Brussels correspondent for France24, the 24/7 international TV channel.

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